Global Report on the Benefits of a Permanent WTO Moratorium on Customs Duties on Electronic Transmissions and WTO Work Programme on Electronic Commerce

The World Trade Organization (WTO)’s Moratorium on Customs Duties on Electronic Transmissions (“Moratorium”) has been renewed at every ministerial since it was put in place in 1998. This Report urges WTO Members to support a standing WTO commitment not to impose duties on electronic transmissions.

By making it easier to transfer digital content and supply digital services across borders, the Moratorium has facilitated knowledge sharing and access to new market opportunities, including for Micro, Small, and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs). The Moratorium ensures the regulatory predictability essential for long-term digital investment, innovation, and cross-border integration. It supports the competitiveness of economically integrated regions, allowing for seamless digital flows that enhance efficiency and innovation across borders.

Electronic transmissions also act as critical enablers of modern supply chains, including manufacturing, services, and cross-border production networks. The expanded digital trade associated with the Moratorium has helped governments diversify their economies, contributing to broader economic growth and a stronger tax base.

Multiple studies have concluded that the Moratorium yields net economic benefits for developing as well as developed countries, with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) predicting that ending the Moratorium “would hit low-income country trade the most.” Similar findings on the value of the Moratorium have been documented in reports from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the WTO, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), as well as by researchers in India and Indonesia, among others.

Since 2024, over 200 civil society and industry organizations from across Africa, Asia, the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and Oceania have called on the WTO membership to support the Moratorium—the continuation of which also enables continuation of the Work Programme on Electronic Commerce.